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billbennett

@[email protected]

I like to think that my 45 years of reporting on technology and business has left me sceptical rather than cynical but the behaviour of some tech companies is such that sometimes readers might be better served by the latter approach.

See my New Zealand telecommunications and tech news website at https://billbennett.co.nz

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@billbennett@mastodon.nz avatar billbennett , to random
@billbennett@mastodon.nz avatar billbennett , to random

You’d have to bonkers to visit the US for anything other than essential travel right now. Trust me... 45 years ago I was wrongly denied entry and spent a few hours in a cell. These days it would be much worse.

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260109-how-us-politics-is-affecting-international-travel

@jeremy_pm@mastodon.nz avatar jeremy_pm , to random

As we head into the Chris mass season, the odds on the next Prime Minister having the first name Chris are very high.

However, I''d like to broaden the prospects to the likelihood of the next NZ Prime Minister having a first name beginning with the letter C.

This select your preferred next Prime Minister poll is brought to you by the letter C.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/579973/chris-bishop-says-he-s-not-plotting-to-roll-christopher-luxon

billbennett ,
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@jeremy_pm I doubt that is a representative sample of New Zealand voting intention, probably reflects Mastodon quite accurately.

billbennett ,
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@jeremy_pm Personally I’d like to see the Greens put more emphasis on the climate part of that list, I feel it often gets pushed too far down the agenda. But I realise I’m in a minority.

@billbennett@mastodon.nz avatar billbennett , to random

Open Source folk: Are there any tools I can use to automatically track changes on a limited number of web pages?

@billbennett@mastodon.nz avatar billbennett , to random

The poms chose to demote ex-prince Andrew for something that appears to qualify an American to be elected president.

@nixCraft@mastodon.social avatar nixCraft , to random

By now you know that Microsoft is now defaulting to saving new Word documents directly to OneDrive. I guess Excel will be the next inline. The cynical take is that this is incredibly convenient for them, especially if they plan on using that data to train future LLMs. Imagine paying for software only to have your data automatically funneled into their cloud. Plus, what happens when you're offline and need those files? Just use the LibreOffice and just say no to all Microsoft products.

billbennett ,
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@nixCraft Wait... there are people still willingly using Microsoft Office?

Pure masochism.

@mcc@mastodon.social avatar mcc , (edited ) to random

Microsoft attempting to force people to switch from Windows 10 to Windows 11 has somehow resulted in a 10% increase in the market share of Windows 7 https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows-11/windows-7-usage-skyrockets-as-users-refuse-to-upgrade-to-windows-11-in-wake-of-windows-10-end-of-support

EDIT: Before replying to this post, please see this reply about how apparently the entire increase in Win7 market share is due to like one person in Singapore installing it a zillion times https://chitter.xyz/@Vordus/115301165497461902

billbennett ,
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@mcc Windows 7 was the last usable version.

@evacide@hachyderm.io avatar evacide , (edited ) to random

Samsung has rolled out a software update to its smart fridges that will display ads, despite saying they had "no plans" to do so. We're headed for a future where you will have to pay extra for appliances without ads.

https://www.theverge.com/news/780757/samsung-brings-ads-to-us-fridges

billbennett ,
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@evacide Or, you know, just don’t buy a Samsung fridge.

@BrodieOnLinux@mstdn.social avatar BrodieOnLinux , to random

Microsoft Keeps Making Windows 11 Worse https://youtu.be/KtP8l_Tuvew

billbennett ,
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@BrodieOnLinux I find it unusable. How do people who don't own Macs ever get anything done?

billbennett ,
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@BrodieOnLinux BTW: In case anyone reading these threads thinks otherwise, I'm 100% in agreement with "Microsoft Keeps Making Windows 11 Worse".

@molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar molly0xfff , to random

Elon Musk's favorite supposed data expert, who he's retweeted at least a dozen times, claims she can only process 60,000 rows of data before her "hard drive overheats".

Perhaps someone should rescue her from where she's apparently stuck twenty years in the past, which is the only possible explanation for those hardware limitations and the apparent lack of access to cloud compute.

Unless, of course, she's just completely making shit up.

Tweet by @DataRepublican: "In my initial run, which processed the first 60,000 rows, I did not find these awards—my hard drive overheated long before I could complete a full pass through the database. In a later run, which I referenced in another post, I did identify two such awards. That discrepancy is a matter of sampling size, not an issue with the query itself. I’ll now attempt a full run, which should capture the awards you found."
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billbennett ,
@billbennett@mastodon.nz avatar

@molly0xfff Perhaps she is using a Palm Pilot.

@aral@mastodon.ar.al avatar aral , to random

How people think AI is going to kill them: terminator robots.

How AI is actually going to kill them: by destroying their habitat and drinking all their water.

billbennett ,
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@aral I’m prepared to bet people have already been killed by AI giving them really bad advice. But your story is so much worse.

@billbennett@mastodon.nz avatar billbennett , to random